In many areas of this country, the development of real estate has been hindered or blocked due to the unavailability of on-site water.
For example, in certain prime residential areas around San Francisco, county officials will not issue housing construction permits because of the lack of piped-in water and the absence of accessible ground water. The same problems hinder development in many arid areas such as the southwestern United States, the Virgin Islands and elsewhere.
Similar problems exist in other locations. For example, in certain areas of the Hawaiian Islands and other locations, rainwater is plentiful, or at least adequate to support habitation, but piped-in water and ground water are unavailable due to expense, geology, contamination, etc.
Others have previously suggested the provision of tanks to collect rainwater, where available, for use in a habitable structure. However, exposed tanks like those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,760,613 and 4,726,151 are generally unsightly and can cover a relatively large portion of a tract. Moreover, the property in question may not be sufficiently large in area to contain both the habitable structure and the tank or to contain both and still comply with building or zoning codes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,228,006 and 4,934,404 disclose burying water storage tanks under or near a habitable structure. However, excavation may not be possible in some locations due to geology and may be a significant additional construction expense, even if possible.
The inability to provide adequate water in these cases has either prevented or limited the development of the property in question and has significantly depressed the market values of such properties. In some instances, properties which would be extremely valuable if they could be developed for habitable uses have been rendered almost worthless.
Yet another problem which has emerged in certain areas subject to drought, like many parts of the Southwestern United States, is the occurrence of brush fires which sweep over houses and other dwellings. Often such fires merely start the ignition of the roof and/or walls of such houses which thereafter continue to burn after the front of the brush fire has moved on. In many cases, fire fighting organizations are unable to save such structures because they are overwhelmed by the size of the areas affected by the fires or they do not have adequate access to the site of the fire or because of remoteness or danger from this fire itself. Even where fire equipment may be able to make its way to the fire scene, it may still lack adequate access to water or adequate pressure at the property to save the structure.